


After the Dentist

by YesIAmPlease



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Funny, Other, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27506521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YesIAmPlease/pseuds/YesIAmPlease
Summary: Verin is the poor unfortunate soul that has to take Essek back home after a trip to the dentist that involved anesthesia. Essek can't stop thinking about the Mighty Nein.
Relationships: Essek Thelyss & Verin Thelyss
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	After the Dentist

“Forgive me, but considering I would have to travel to get there and leave my station, I don’t fully see why I should have to take care of him.“

“Because there’s no one else who will, and I’m telling _you_ to do it.“

Verin knew that tone all too well, “Yes, mother.”

“All you have to do is get him back to his home and make sure he gets inside without incident. It will take less than an hour.“

“Yes, mother.“

“He’ll be coming off of anesthesia, so make sure he doesn’t say anything he shouldn’t around others. And I trust you’ll be sure to tell me if he says anything that I should know.“

“Yes, mother.“

Essek looked around groggily as a nurse led him to the waiting room. Verin came in a few minutes later, “How did it go?”

Essek was lost in thought, trying to figure out how the fish could fly and why they only stayed in one area of the room when there were so many other spots around them to explore. Verin nudged him, getting his attention. A muffled, “Huh?” was all that came out. 

“I guess you really are out of it,“ Verin grabbed his arm and started leading Essek out, “Come on, let’s get you into the carriage.“ 

“Stars!“

“Yes, just like all the time.“

Essek fell asleep almost as soon as he sat down, much to Verin’s relief. _‘All I have to do is make sure he gets inside. That should be easy enough, assuming he doesn’t float away.’_ Essek whined as he was woken up once they’d gotten outside of his towers. Verin grabbed him by the arm again and started leading him to the door, “I know, I know. You’ll be in bed soon enough.” 

Essek felt himself being pulled along. It was familiar. His mind flashed back to the party, him suddenly paralyzed and Jester pulling him out of the room. All the other things from that night came flooding back to him in that moment, their disappointment, their anger, the undeserved reassurance, their demeanor towards him the last time they spoke and how long it’s been since then. “It’s been so long...”

“Huh?“ Verin turned to look at Essek, shocked to see his older brother starting to breath unsteady with tears welling in his eyes.

“It’s been really long,“ Essek didn’t even realize he was crying, “I don’t know if something is wrong.“

“I-I, uh,“ Verin quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching, “let’s get you inside, okay?“ He quickly pulled Essek in and shut the door.

Essek looked around his sitting room, the room he had them over for breakfast in. He tried really hard to give them a nice breakfast. He tried so hard. They liked him back then. He didn’t deserve for them to like him. He didn’t deserve to have them as his friends, and now they know that, too. They still haven’t contacted him. They hate him.

“Okay, none of the doors open, I should’ve expected that.“ Verin went back down the stairs, “I can’t get you to your room, but I’m sure you’ll be fine on the...“ the sound of sobbing filled the air, “...couch.” Verin braced himself before asking, “What’s wrong? Look at me,“ he put his hands on Essek’s shoulders, getting his attention, “Why are you upset?“

“They hate me!“ 

“Who hates you?“

“My friends...“ It felt wrong to still call them that.

Verin paused for a moment, his first thought being to question his brother having friends, but put that out of his mind. “Can you open the door to the kitchen? There’s water in there, do you want a glass of water?”

“Water tastes good,“ Essek said between sobs.

“Yes, water tastes very good, and if you open the kitchen I can get you some.”

“Okay.“ 

Verin, successfully in the kitchen, sat Essek down at a table and got him some water as promised, along with a handkerchief. “Now, who are your friends and why do you think they hate you?”

A few seconds passed before Essek looked up from his drink, “Huh?”

Verin sighed, “Who are your friends?”

“The...“ Essek tried to hold back another sob, “the Mighty Nein“

“Uh huh,“ thinking about it, he’s heard of them before, “and why do you think they hate you?“ Essek froze when the question hit his ears, then started sobbing again. Verin switched to a more gentle tone, “Hey, hey, calm down. I just want to know what’s making you upset. Can you tell me why you think your friends hate you?”

After a moment, practically in a whisper, “I’m a bad person...“ Verin couldn’t exactly say anything to contradict that, so stayed silent, but did put a reassuring hand on Essek’s shoulder. “I’m a bad person, and they know, and they’re so good. They haven’t contacted me in so long. They hate me.”

“If they’re your friends, then how can they hate you?“

“They do.“

“Okay,“ Verin was starting to feel like a therapist at this point, “what are these friends of yours like? Tell me about them.“

Essek perked up a bit, “Well, there’s Jester,” Verin nodded, encouraging him to go on, “She’s really nice, and playful. She gave me presents...” Essek remembered the cupcake. He didn’t eat it, he doesn’t like sweets. Why didn’t he just eat it? She bought that and was kind enough to give it to him, he should’ve eaten it. Why didn’t he just eat it? 

The sinking feeling of guilt was clear on Essek’s face, which was very off putting for Verin to see. He didn’t think Essek could feel guilt. “And the others?”

“Oh...,“ Essek dwelled on his guilt for a few more seconds before he continued, “There’s Veth. She was a goblin, but now she’s not. She likes to joke around, but she’s really very intelligent. We worked on a spell together, me, her, and Caleb. I was happy that day.“ Essek hadn’t felt connected like that in a long time, or maybe that was the first time? So genuine, the energy, the way they all bounced off each other. It was incredible. He’ll never have that again. He’ll never see those smiles again. That feeling, it will never happen again. He felt sick.

“Who is Caleb? Tell me about them.”

The tightness in his chest came back as he tried to speak, the tears welling up again. “H-he-he is...”

“It’s okay. Just take a deep breath. Everything is okay, you can take your time.“

The handkerchief was soaked at this point, but he still tried to use it. “He is a wizard. He’s brilliant. He’s kind, and compassionate. Sometimes he’s funny. He’s very sad...” Those sad, pain filled blue eyes of a several times over broken and pieced back together man. They’re beautiful. There’s so much hurt behind them, and Essek contributed to that. He put more pain in the eyes of someone who has felt more than enough for several lifetimes. That night on the ship, there was so much anger, too. How could he have been so foolish to think things could get better after that day?

Verin got him a dish rag instead, “Maybe that one wasn’t the best one to talk about...” After several minutes spent calming Essek back down, Verin was hesitant to ask, but hoped it couldn’t get worse, “Okay, that’s three out of nine, 6 more left to go.”

“Seven,“ Essek sniffed.

“What?“

“There are seven.“

“Seven left...?“

“No, seven people in the Mighty Nein.“

“Why would they call themselves the Mighty Nein if there are seven?“

Essek looked down at his lap, “I don’t know...“

“Okay, four left then.” _‘Thank the light, it’s less.’_ Essek looked tired, every time he stopped crying, he was practically falling asleep sitting up. “How about we finish this conversation in your room?”

“My room?“

“So you can get in bed.“

Essek sat quietly for a moment, “I’m tired.”

“Then let’s get you to bed.“ Verin led Essek up the stairs and got him to open the door to his room, then helped him to take off his shoes and cloak. “Better?“

Essek stared up at nothing as he laid in bed. His eyelids felt heavy, but he still wanted to talk. “Yasha is sad. She had a lot of bad things happen to her. She asked me if I was lonely. I could tell that she was lonely, too.” Yasha wasn’t like the rest, she didn’t really feel like a friend yet. Now she never will. He doesn’t deserve it. At least he probably didn’t hurt her the way he hurt the others.

“Okay, and the other three?“ Verin pulled a chair over to the side of the bed.

“Beauregard is smart, too, and resourceful. She’s a member of the Cobalt Soul. She’s honest, she tells you what she thinks.“ And all she must think about him is that he’s a monster. A cold, heartless, scheming, power hungry monster that she needs to protect the world from. She probably wants him dead. That’s fair, how could any of them not?

Essek continued, “Fjord is funny. He had a...“ Essek yawned, “ different accent when I first met him from the one he has now. He’s very good at pretending.” The night he went to dinner, Fjord told him he was a rock for their group. What is he to them now? Would it be better to be something awful to them, or to be nothing at all? He might find out, eventually. Both hurt in their own ways.

And then there was Caduceus. He could make you feel safe or like he was staring into your soul. He called Essek a good man, but was that manipulation or was he trying to be kind? How could anyone look at the things he’s done and call him a good man? Essek wiped the hot tears away with his blanket, feeling his eyes refusing to stay open. “Caduceus is scary. He could read a locked book. He makes really good tea...”

Verin waited 10 or so minutes to be sure Essek was asleep before leaving. Thankfully, the doors let him out.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic brought to by my fantasy of one day having dental insurance. Wisdom Teeth: They're a bitch!


End file.
